giving up. >> we don't need a manager. we need someone who's going to pull up government by the roots and throw it out and do something to liberate the private sector in america. that's what we need. . >> president obama heads west to talk energy. joining us from nevada, interior secretary ken salazar traveling with the president. plus, is justice deferred justice denied? trayvon martin's parents tell matte lawyer they think their son was killed because of his race. >> he was suspicious because he was young, black with a hoodie. >> and women fighting for women. secretary of state hillary clinton and former first lady laura bush together today marking a decade of fighting for political rights for after gan women. a struggle now at risk. and good day. i'm andrea mitchell. if our daily fix today, after staying on the sidelines for months, former florida governor

jeb bush endorsed mitt romney this morning. will other republican holdouts now get on board? chris cillizza is managing editor of post politics.com and msnbc news chief white house correspondent and political director chuck todd is host of the "daily rundown" right here on msnbc. jeb is the big get. >> a big get. there's they're or fo there's three or four more to get. the nomination plane is coming in for the landing the wheels are down. you can always abort landings. you can't -- this jeb bush endorsement, it's important. it would be -- it has been more telling that it took so long. look how it was done, by press release, by tweet. and then the romney campaign even you know, they put out a release talking about that it happened. >> where was the joint news conference? where was the stopover in florida? >> there's a long history here. jeb bush has not been happy with mitt romney and how mitt romney

has run for president for both cycles. you can talk to friends of his. he was very excited about the idea of romney's presidential campaign until 2007. and then he starred running against immigration and doing these things. >> immigration. >> immigration has been what has frustrated from what i understand governor bush for years with romney. he comes to this out of a realization it's my understanding, not out of enthusiasm. >> realization that the front-runner now is as you say coming in for the landing. but to sort of overwear this analogy. >> we'll beat it into the ground. >> is it possible that the landing will be aborted not louisiana because that's a predictable santorum victory. but what about wisconsin to come? >> in talking to folks both after the illinois result last night and in the wake of the bush news today, not coincidental i think.

i don't think jeb bush all of a sudden decided today. i think this is an attempt by the romney folks to say this is close to over. folks point to wisconsin as eitheris which is or pennsylvania, his home state which votes later in the month as kind of rick santorum's last stand. i would say though, andrea, rick strum now has a 300 delegate deficit to mitt romney. it's just, from a math point of view, the race is nearly certainly over and has been for several weeks. it's the perception and establishment and when the establishment steps in. that's why and chuck's right. that's why this jeb bush endorsement patters so much. this is sort of two prizefighters going at it. one of the few referees who can step in and declare a technical knockout without fans booing and throw things at him is jeb bush. i took the airplane metaphor and made a boxing metaphor. >> we still have mitch daniels and paul ryanen influential with

both wings of the party to the quiet bill kristol down, the weekly standard crowd. >> these are people who could be running mates. >> they could be. i think they're more in the bull pen for the next presidential run. >> let's talk about the gender issue because one thing chrysalchris cillizza that has really been noticeable in the way mitt romney has run this campaign is also what he has said about women. we sort of expected it from rick santorum to be consistent with his past history about contraception and a lot of other issues sending his wife carolina out to try to soften that a bit on gender. take a listen to sa see richards of planned parenthood trying to stop some of the state initiatives in arizona, her home state. i talked to her yesterday. >> we have enormous bipartisan support and yet, mitt romney the other day said one of his goals was to get rid of planned parenthood, an organization that

sees one in five women for health care in their lifetime. >> this chris and chuck, is one of the big issues that's going to be running the campaign. but the other big issue i think for us and for the general election and for all elections is tim tebow going to the jets? let's talk about that for a second. >> i'm just sort of -- rex ryan, tim tebow. all i know is the "new york post" want to know what did they do to deserve this. and they mean it in a good way. anything. >> has jeremy lin fades and we need another. >> can you get more polar cultural opposites? i'll just leave it at that, chris. >> also. >> how is that going to play in new york city. >> if ever twitter breaks, it will be over tim tebow to the jets. i mean, this is twitter's moment. but chuck's right. if you are a sports reporter in in the new york media market, you could not write a scenario

you could not write a story this good. amazing stuff. >> no, and that's a great story. there's a bigger story that the nfl happened today. suspending the coach of the new orleans saints, sean payton for a full year for this bounty scandal. the nfl had a liability issue they had to worry about. if some player had gotten injured for life, their career ended because of this bounty and the nfl looked like they weren't doing something big about it, they were going to be held liable. they had to take action. i'm surprised at how big of an action they took. but that is -- it just shows you how sensitive they are to these things. they know they have potential liability issues they have to be careful. >> chuck and chris, this is taking everybody into our own locker room. to be continued. call you later, sa lisa. thank you very much. joining us now from the president's re-election campaign, stephanie cutter, deputy campaign manager.

stephanie, i won't ask you about tim tebow, but you know what we're all talking about. okay. illinois is a done deal and now mitt romney, chris and chuck and i were were just talking about how it seems to be coming in for a landing for him. are you going to be running against the man you thought you would be running against, mitt romney? >> we don't know what republicans will do this weekend in louisiana or some of the other contests coming up. he's definitely adding up the delegates. i'm sure his opponents are doing the math also. so you know, the republicans need to resolve whatever issues they have remaining in their race. we're hitting the ground, organizings, putting building blocks in place so we're ready when there is a republican general election nominee. as mitt romney moves through the primaries, some things remain constant. he outspent santorum 21 to 1 in

chicago. you couldn't turn on the tv ear without seeing a knob ad against rick santorum. not one positive ad on mitt romney. so this is how he's winning which is a very dangerous place to be. if you are indeed going to be the general election candidate. >> and what about the jeb bush endorsement? that certainly does seem to solidify at least republican leadership and certainly jeb bush with conservative credentials. >> right. it definitely sends that signal that they're trying to put an end to this. but it kind of felt like jeb bush was holding his nose and making that endorsement today. you know, just a couple weeks ago, jeb bush said that you know, he thought he was a conservative. he used to be a conservative but watching this republican primary and watching people play off of fears and scare tactics in this race was troubling. and i think he's probably talking about something like mitt romney's position on immigration. you know, he has the most extreme position on immigration

in this republican race. of any of his opponents. that's the type of thing that jeb bush was probably talking about. that will fear mongering on immigration. >> now, in this campaign and other campaigns, the children of candidates and certainly of presidents have been pretty much off limits but this is rick santorum calling into glenn beck's tv show and talking about malia being in mexico which the first lady in the white house did acknowledge. it was not reported till it was acknowledged by the white house where there was at the same time an earthquake. she is on a service trip with her school, her school mates, a spring break working service trip. let's watch. >> the administration is saying it's not safe to have people down there. then just because you can send 25 secret service agents doesn't mean you should do it. you should set an example. i think that's what presidents do. >> now, maybe we should ignore the fact that he's talking about a secret service detail and

other security issues, but is that appropriate to be talking about a child, a young child, a white house child? >> well, andrea, we did have had a long-standing agreement since the beginning of this administration not to report on president and mrs. obama's children. including whether or not they're taking a trip. let's just stipulate that. i think that children for candidate purposes have always been off-limits in presidential campaigns. or really any campaign. i'm surprised that rick santorum wouldn't agree with that. i'll leave it at that. >> we will leave it there, as well. thank you very much, stephanie cutter. thanks for being with us today. and up next, outrage is growing in florida as the parents of slain teen trayvon martin plead for police to make an arrest. still ahead, my conversation with former secretary of state condoleezza rice about trayvon martin, our nation's greatest

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the parents of trayvon martin, the unarmed teen shot and killed last month are the outraged that the alleged gunman is still free. this morning martin's mother spoke to matt lauer on the today show exclusively and pleaded for justice to be done. >> i just want them to take a look at the evidence that they have. i just hurt in my heart hurts because this guy has not been arrested. and i just feel like the sanford police department decided to decide if he -- they decided on the scene to be the judge and jury and i just want this guy arrested. and so he can be brought to justice. >> "new york times" columnist

charles blow joins me now from new york. charles, thanks very much. this has been so painful for everyone, but i can't even imagine what that family is going through. there was, of course, the rally last night in florida and the president of the central florida urban league spoke. let's play a little bit of that. >> injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. individuals who don't look like me. individuals don't have my same economic background. individuals who don't grow up, did not grow up in sanford are bothered by this lack of an arrest. >> charles, i'm struck by your column. you write "as the father of two black taken boys this case hits close to home. this is the fear that seizes me whenever my boys are out in the world that main with a gun and an itchy finger will find them

suspicious." let's talk about that for a moment. what does it mean as the parent of two taken boys to worry about them every time they go out? >> it is a huge burden that parents carry, and that burden is also on the shoulder of many young children, boys like trayvon, boys like the 13-year-old witness to trayvon's killing who was outside walking his dog now 13 years old who is having trouble sleeping, acting out a little bit in school who says that people stereotype sometimes and i fit the stereo type of the person who got shot. these young people carry such a weight on their shoulders because they carry a mark on their foreheads that because they are born into the skin that they are in, that they are on their under a weight of suspicion. and that is a cultural travesty,

not just a sanford shooting travesty. >> it just seems so incredible that we are sitting here in 2012 repeating some of the experiences, i mean it does bring to mind emmett till, does it not? >> it brings to mind till for a lot of people. and there are other cases of people who were shot or killed or mistreated and who have not gotten the justice that they think that they deserve. and i think that what trayvon does is it coalesce all of that kind of negative energy. all of the things that exists in the ether that you kind of breathe or whisper or speak in quietness and quiet rooms and you look your son in the eye before he walks out as i do if he's going out at night and say, this is what i need you to do because i need you to come home. if i have to bury you, that will kill me.

and that means that you cannot think are appropriate for a child. i'm going to have to have you grow up a little bit faster than other children may have to. >> and looking at the fact that we have an african-american president. we have an african-american attorney general. does that give hope that the attorney general, that the justice department will be as it says, stepping in even though lawyers are saying that it may be very difficult to prove that this was quote a hate crime if you cannot establish a racial motivation? >> right. so there are two things happening there. you asked a lot of different questions. one is the example set by having an african-american in the white house and at the justice department and i think that those set great examples for every child in america, not just young black children. however, when it comes down to the legal minutia of florida laws and this particular case, we're going to have to see how

they sift through that. at least now though we have the right sets of eyes on this case. the justice department is looking into it. we also have empanelled a grand jury to look into this case. and it is no longer just a sanford police department issue because there have been questions raised in the past about the conduct of the sanford police department. and i do not want to say that they, you know, what they've done in this case is completely wrong because i have not seen their investigation. it just seems to me as a citizen of america and as a father that some things have been missed or some things have been mishandled. and even if you didn't arrest zimmer pan the night of the shooting, there is now more evidence in addition to i think you know, lowering that body of trayvon into that grave on march 3rd was enough evidence to hold him or at least to arrest him and let a jury figure it out.

but now that we have additional information from witnesses from trayvon's girlfriend who says that she was on the line with trayvon when he encountered zimmerman, it seems to me that after the fact at the very least, you have reason to call mr. zimmerman back in and to place him under arrest. >> all you need is probable cause, not reasonable doubt. it's a very low threshold. >> it's not a conviction. >> it's just an inquiry at this is taken. thank you very much, charles. for raising a lot of questions. to be continued. up next, the political briefing will he stay, will he go? the story of newt. you're watching "andrea mitchell reports" only on msnbc. hey, this is challenger. i'll be waiting for you in stall 5. it confirms your reservation and the location your car is in, the moment you land. it's just another way you'll be traveling at the speed of hertz.

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i get my cancer medications through the mail. now washington, they're looking at shutting down post offices coast to coast. closing plants is not the answer. they want to cut 100,000 jobs. it's gonna cost us more, and the service is gonna be less. we could lose clientele because of increased mailing times. the ripple effect is going to be devastating. congress created the problem. and if our legislators get on the ball, they can make the right decisions. introducing gold choice. the freedom you can only get from hertz to keep the car you reserved or simply choose another. and it's free. ya know, for whoever you are that day. it's just another way you'll be traveling at the speed of hertz. rick santorum's campaign has made a public appeal to newt gingrich. calling on him top get out of the republican race. joining me now is politico's white house reporter joe

williams. joe, let's talk about this. this is john brad bender saying 80s time for gingrich's supporters to get behind us, et cetera. is this the time? gingrich is certainly rejecting that out of hand. >> he's rejecting it out of hand because it seems like he's having a good time on the trail. he's been visiting zoos, talking policy, getting a scintilla of the attention he got even a couple months ago. it's long since time for him to have made his move one way or the other. longer he stays in, the more debt he's going to accrue. now seams like the time to fish or cut bait. the question is whether or not he's in the frame to hear that kind of talk and deal with it. >> it could reach a point where he had diminishing financial returns where it might hurt his future speaking income. >> that's right. >> or book income if he stays in the race to the point where he becomes a real either an obstacle or less than serious candidate. >> a liability. exactly. already, there are discussions about him being a lablt liability on the trail.

santorum clearly wants him out. romney wants him out to focus on his general election strategy. but gingrich is like, look, as long as i've got funding and backers and particularly secret service protection which in some ways legitimizes himself he can continue and carry on. >> it also save allot of money helping him get from one place to the next. >> absolutely. >> it's a great logistical stage in a campaign. >> one of the problems he's having is staffers getting unpaid, debts racked up that he's going to have to retire. >> thanks so much, joe williams. thank you very much. up next, politics at the pump with interior secretary ken salazar. plus, former secretary of state condoleezza rice joins us to talk about the republican race, education and national security. this is "andrea mitchell reports" only on msnbc. not in my house. with maxwell house french roast,

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and he's telling negotiators he acted to punish france's army and avenge the plight of palestinian children. french authorities say the suspect has told authorities he will surrender this evening but noted that he offered to surrender several times today already. hundreds of homes in mexico reduced to rubble after a strong 7.4 magnitude quake struck the country's south. about a dozen people were injured. no deaths have been reported. first daughter malia obama was in the quake region on a class service trip. first lady's office reports that she is indeed safe. one former first lady applauded another today at an event at the state department celebrating the creation of the u.s./afghan women's council, a project that mrs. laura bush played an integral role in creating that focuses on

supporting afghan women politically and economically and socially. hillary clinton also the first lady, a former first lady hosted the event at the state department. >> i look around this room and i see so many people who have helped to make the council a powerful engine for change. both from afghanistan and the united states. laura bush did so much to elevate and strengthen this council. both in ways public and private. >> and finally a big move in the nfl. quarterback tim tebow has been traded to the new york jets. the team announced the trade less than an hour ago in which they sent a fourth-round pick to the denver broncos. he became available of course, after denver signed quarterback peyton manning officially yesterday. former secretary of state condoleezza rice is spearheading a new task force on how our failing schools are actually a national security risk.

the former secretary is in palm beach working with the boys and girls club there which she is a board member. she also is helping to lead this education task force that compiled the report. i talked to her just about an hour ago. >> what you've determined is there is a national security risk, a rick to our nation's security because of the declining education. the lack of real progress in improving the gaps, the big gaps. how can we fix this problem? >> well, joel cline and i, the forrer new york city commissioner for education and i had a very good task force that looked at this issue where national security is being affected by the state of our k-12 education system. we believe there are really three ways that this can be improved. first of all, we need stronger, higher national standards. today, a child in korea learns in third grade what our children

learn in fifth grade math. that just can't continue. secondly, we believe that parents need greater choices for their children particularly parents who don't have means will need to be able to get their children out of failing schools. we think that introducing competition into the public school system will help to improve the state of education and finally, we need to make certain that we're keeping track, that we're auditing our progress of the skill levels that our kids are attaining in math, science, reading and indeed, foreign languages. >> and indeed, foreign language is another huge problem which you point out in the task force. we've not seen in this political campaign a really good debate on education, on these problems or on national security for that matter. now, with the victory in illinois, jeb bush who you know very well, has now just today endorsed mitt romney. and said that it's time for the republican party to come together. settle on this nominee and move

forward. is it time for this primary process to be over? do you agree with what governor bush says? >> well, we are going to have a nominee. and when we have a nominee, and i this i we're getting close, frankly, then i think people will, republicans will unify around the nominee. we have important issues before us in the country. we have issues like what is the proper role of the federal government in our lives. we have issues facing us in national security. we have issues on education about which we've heard far too little. and so, i believe that we're going through a primary season, primary seasons are always this way. but when there's a nominee, you're going to see a rallying around that nominee. i have no doubt about it. >> and at the same time, you talk about national security. today, secretary clinton, your successor and laura bush with whom you worked so closely on the role of afghan women, the restrictions, the taliban

incursions against women's rights. they're having a meeting today at the state department. at the very time as president karzai is threatening to roll back all of the achievements. what message can we draw from in that for all of our sacrifices in afghanistan, the women of afghanistan are about to lose the rights that we have fought so hard for them to gain? >> well, it is absolutely essential that the united states send the strongest possible message that the afghan constitution, which upholds the rights of women, will in fact, continue to govern in afghanistan. if there is to be any progress there. and by the way, it's not just our sacrifice. it's the sacrifice of the afghan people, too. the women who have put their lives on the line to assure their own rights. and the afghans should remember and particularly president karzai should remember that the life under the taliban was extremely difficult for women. of course. but it was really bad for afghans too because i've come to

believe that when you see women mistreated it's actually a proxy for something very much deeper and something very much more dangerous which is a disregard for human rights in general. so i'm very glad that this focus is being brought on afghan women. we have a big stake in their continued progress, and so do the afghan people. >> is it possible for us to continue the mission in afghanistan if president karzai insists that american troops be restricted to base and not even be in the vils where they are supposed to be working? >> well, i had i we'll have to let president karzai and u.s. government officials work these issues out. i'm certain that they can come to a workable understanding because the work that our troops are doing in so-called counter insurgency where they're helping villagers to do reconstruction in stable and secure circumstances is key to the future of afghanistan. i am not inside on these discussions or negotiations. so i really can't comment on how

they're going, but i think there is a workable path here and i'm sure that our government is pursuing it. >> you have been meeting with the boyce and girls clubs and working so hard on the issues of young children, especially minority children. you're in florida. trayvon martin. here's a case where an african-american teenager was shot and killed and there has still not been any legal action taken against the man who shot him. who is alleged to have who the him without cause, a man, teenager who was unarmed. what does this say about american society? what does it say about our law enforcement? to you who grew up experiencing birmingham, alabama in the civil rights era, you lost one of your kindergarten school mates to the terrible church bombing in birmingham. >> well, first of all, it's a great tragedy. this young man has been deprived of life and that's an enormous

tragedy. and we all should have prayers and for his family and for those who are left behind. so it's a great tragedy. that's the thirst thing to say. secondly, i've always said that obviously, we are not a race blind society. beat aspire to be one. we work toward it. we've gotten bitter. but we are not yet. but i'm not going to comment on the legal aspects of this case because as i understand it, the justice department is looking into it. local authorities are looking into it. and i certainly hope that justice will be done here and due process accorded. but i'm not going to comment on the legal aspects of this. i'm not economy to do so. >> do you think that it likely that if the races were reversed, if the man with the gun had been african-american and the victim had been white, do you really think it would have taken weeks and community pressure and protests in order to even get the federal government to say nothing of local officials

involved? >> andrea, there is simply to way to know and no way to answer a speculative question like that in what is a very explosive environment. and so, i am very glad that the justice department is going to look into it. it's totally appropriate that attorney general holder will do so. and we'll leave this in the hands of the authorities. >> and finally, as there is still the possibility of a contested convention, would you be open to any appeals from the conventioning to run either for president or vice president? >> now, andrea, we've had this discussion many, many times over the years. >> situations change. >> i love policy -- no, no, i love policy, not politics. and it is -- it's up to those who really want to run for office to do so. we're going to fiend a great ticket for the republican party. and i'm quite comfortable doing what i'm doing. i'm here because i'm very much

an advocate for our kids, four education. i'm a professor at stanford. this is where i belong and what i love doing. >> has anyone talked to you about running? >> andrea, no, and i've said very clearly that i don't know how many ways to say this isn't for me. >> okay. do you plan to be in tampa though? >> pardon me? >> do you plan to attend the convention? >> i will most likely attend the convention in tampa, yes. >> okay. we will see you there, if not sooner. thank you very much. secretary of state former secretary of state condoleezza rice. >> take care. and as gas prices near record highs across the country, president obama set off on a pour-state energy blitz today hitting nevada, oklahoma, new mexico and ohio. the republicans have not only been hammering the president on his energy policy but mitt rommy is calling for him to fire three cabinet secretaries. including interior secretary ken salazar. >> they were hired to raise the

cost of gasoline and now the president says he wants to lower it. given that's the new direction, their expertise is not in lowering the price of gasoline. their pert tease was in raising it. so if i were them, i would turn in my resignation. if they don't, he should fire them. >> so, joining us now ken salazar. just want to give you a chance to respond to mitt romney who says that you and two of your colleagues should be fired for the current energy policy that he says has led to higher prices. >> well, i think it personifies the falsehoods and mistruths that are spread through political rhetoric like that and unresponsibly so because when one looks at president obama has been doing from day one when he came into office, he's been pursuing an all of the above energy strategy. so today we're producing more oil in this country than we have since 2003. oil imports are down 16%. we are powering our cars in a much more fuel efficient way. we're capturing the power of the

sun and wind and ultimately, it is that energy program that is going to avoid the pain that americans have been feeling not only in this price shock we're facing today but also in the last 12 price shocks we've seen since world war ii. we need that kind of long-term plan. that's what president obama is illustrating today and tomorrow. >> you know, there's been a lot of claims back and forth and newt gingrich standing in front of a gas pump and saying that if he's president, he can deliver $2.50 gas. a lot of people have poked fun at that. at the same time, the president recently in florida was saying there are now more oil and gas rigs operational in the u.s. or offshore here than anywhere else in the world. point of fact, one of the fact checking groups pointed out that first of all, the data do not exist for offshore china and for russia, big factors. and also, it's apples and oranges because oil and gas rigs were counted differently by the energy -- the eia i guess it is

in years past. the energy agency. so why make these claims when a lot of people say they aren't problemable and in fact, are in many cases dem mon strably wrong? >> andrea, i think the fact of the matter is we are producing more oil today than we have since 2003. i think on the waters which the president control s baffle people, we're produced more than what was produced under the last few years of the bush administration. so the president's point is that we believe in an all of the above energy strategy. we're implementing it across the board. it's a broad portfolio. it includes oil and gas. it includes renewables, biofuels, it includes efficiencies, it includes all of those things. i think the most important thing here is that oftentimes what happens is people who are running for office mislead the american people by saying that

there's a three-point plan or bumper sticker kind of way of bringing down gasoline prices. the fact of the matter is nobody can do that. the price of oil was set on the global economy. people who have looked at this closely and hard know that's the case. what the president is doing is being truthful to the people. the opponents are not. but the president's points of view is we need to keep on a sustained program that we have been pursuing to make sure we get to energy independence and energy security for the united states. that way the american people won't have to go through the kind of pain they're experiencing right now or that they've experienced a number of times in the last 20, 30 years. >> i appreciate that you are correctly fact checking the republican claims. i do think you would probably agree, stipulate that the lead times on energy policy are so long, that you have to give credit to president bush and former president clinton for a lot of the success that we are now seeing with shale oil and

natural gas and other energy production in the united states. >> you know, i think it is a combination of actions that took place before president obama became president but also since president obama became president, we have lived through a national crisis with the gulf oil spill which shocked the nation and yet, notwithstanding that, the president has moved forward with a very robust oil and gas production from the gulf of mexico. we have millions and millions of acres we've leased on shore, we'll be in carlsbad which is now producing more oil than at any time in the last 16 years and that part of new mexico. we're doing things in alaska both on shore as well as offshore. so the president's on the oil and gas production issue, there's no doubt the president has had a robust oil and gas production program as part of the energy portfolio. but the main point, andrea, is that we can't drill our way to energy independence or to lowering oil and gas prices. that's been tried in the past. it doesn't work.

so what does work is to have an all of the above energy strategy that is being implemented and which we are seeing results of today. and so that's what the president will illustrate with renewables. we've doubled them in the last three years. that's what we'll illustrate with the robust oil and gas production off the public lands in new mexico as well as all around the country. >> thank you very much. we'll be right back. but some have had a hard time understanding my accent. so to make sure people get every word of the geico savings message i've been practicing how to talk like a true chicagoan. switching to geico could save you hundreds of dollars on car insurance... da bears. haha... you people sure do talk funny. geico®. fifteen minutes could save you fifteen percent or more on car insurance. here's a chance to create jobs in america. oil sands projects, like kearl, and the keystone pipeline

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you had republican support, democratic support. yet, because of the convoluted politics of now, and it was attached to the jobs bill and this involved what was happening on the house side, basically you lost this vote and to the surprise of senate democrats, it went down. even though the senate republicans really supported it, they switched their votes, voted against it. that's a mess. but what happens? what happens in the real world with an agency that is supposed to create jobs is going to have to lay people off if you don't get remorerized? >> andrea, we have an agency since 1934 that creates jobs, pays for itself, and generates profits for the u.s. taxpayer. that's why it deserves bipartisan support. creating jobs, not only no cost makes money and is totally independent. there's no subsidy. fully paid for by the customers who use the bank. >> at the same time, because it is an export/impart bank and there are some people, some tea party supporters and other who's

think it's a bad deal because it's dealing with foreign companies. you are helping foreign companies do business with the united states. >> we're we're helping foreign companies buy u.s. goods because i would prefer them to buy u.s. goods and create jobs in maerk than by chinese or japanese or german goods. we're in the most competitive marketplace we have ever been in and the fact remains there are 80 export credit agencies around the world supporting their companies as they compete with u.s. companies. we can't unilaterally disarm and not help u.s. companies complete. >> if we're really going to be competitive in the outside world why don't we create the best stuff so everyone wants to buy our stuff, our apples, whatever, and therefore with you don't need the help of the export and import. >> we have the best stuff, i agree with you entirely. if somebody down the road is offering 0% financing, cut rate financing, and we have no

financing, tell me where you will buyer the goods and services whachlt we do at the export-import bank is level the playing field. take financing out of the picture. we provide the same financing that governments do so that the customer can decide which is the best product. >> if i am sitting out there watching this program i would likely say right now these people in congress are idiots, you can't say that because you have to testify in front of them, but they're idiots. republicans support this. democrats support it, yet it goes down because of what it was attached to? explain this to me. >> andrea, we almost shut down the government three times, twice about the budget, once about the debt ceiling. we had to raise the debt ceiling. we need to pass a budget, so we're in a very con ton shus environment. >> it is why people hate washington. i don't want to just say that too loudly, but people do hate washington. not you, not what you're trying to do and your great colleagues there. thank you. >> thank you for having me.

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do you think it is time for the republican party to sort of come together? >> i agree. they should all start supporting me because i am the strong conservative candidate. all the endorsers, the establishment, who is comfortable with the status quo, go with mitt romney. >> chris is back with us. you're the establishment, chris. >> thanks. >> i mean, where do we go now? i guess louisiana, and he wins louisiana. we have seen him with the pastors quoting the evangelicals. >> i think where we go is rick santorum almost certainly wins louisiana and we look to april 3rd, when wisconsin maryland and dc vote. in the next 24 hours does any more of the establishment get mitt romney or send signals or

maybe we should wrap this race up. that's critical. >> thanks so much. that does it for us for this addition of andrea mitchell reports, and to my colleague tamron hall what is next. >> great to see you. trayvon martin's parents will join protesters in new york for a march in support of their son said to be the large i so far. i will talk with al sharpton. florida state representative dennis baxley co-wrote the stand your ground law we talked so much about and he said it was miss applied in this case. breaking news on the nearly 16-hour standoff happening in france between police and the only suspect linked to a string of murders including the shootings at that jewish school in taloose, and mitt romney's top advisor says the candidates positions on certain policies can be erased and redrawn kind of like, you know, the toy the etch and sketch. why would he say that? man, i'm glad aflac pays cash.

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